Haven't lost any weight in 2 months!

[Amanda000]

Im a young adult and two months ago i started working out at the gym 3/4 times a week. Eat healthy meals, drink lots of water and green tea and get my 8 hours of sleep. I havent lost a pound i know i gained some muscles and thats why i might not see the scale moving but my body looks the same and i fit in the same clothes. Why am i not loosing losing weight. 3 years ago i would of lost 20 pounds by now. Any tips? Because im loosing hope. I am trying my hardest.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Weight loss requires a calorie deficit.

This might help anitabean.co.uk/https-anita...

[damienair Graduate]

Some so called healthy food can be high in calories. You might think you are eating a healthy choice, but the calories could be higher than you think or portions could be too large.

For females the daily calorie intake should be 1,800. For males it is 2,200 calories per day.

If you were to keep exercising and stick to 1,500 calories per day you will lose weight.

I’m 44, I’ve been running now for 2 years and had not really lost any weight. In fact at times even though I was running I gained weight. Since January I have been very strict about food choices and tracking my calorie intake daily and I have managed to take 4 mins off my 5K PB time and lost 22 pounds in weight. My fitness pal app is very good for calculating calories and tracking daily calories.

Damien

[Amanda000 in reply to damienair]

I use myfitness pal and eat 1300 calories a day. I dont eat a ton of sugar or sodium i keep very good track of my calories i eat, yet not loosing weight. I thought maybe water weight im gaining so i drank lemon water and things to get rid of water weight but nothing. I appreciate the input though!

[MarkyD Graduate in reply to Amanda000]

You'll think I'm mad, but try upping your daily calorie intake to 1500 for a couple of weeks. That will give you more energy to be more active. See what happens.

I'm not medically qualified, I don't know anything about your BMI, BMR, activity levels but 1300 calories is pretty tough. Was that prescribed for you by a dietician or GP, or have you set that limit yourself?

To lose weight you want to be burning more calories than you consume (obviously, and you know that). But strictly you are wanting to lose weight by burning fat reserves and this means long, slow, steady anaerobic exercise like walking and slow jogging. HIIT or gym-based aerobic classes are not going to burn fat.

[Skippy23 Graduate in reply to MarkyD]

Sorry HIIT, if done correctly, does burn fat. I did it and may other have done it. See Joe Wicks etc.

[Skippy23 Graduate in reply to Amanda000]

Macro ratio might be an issue? You are already tracking calories so guessing you track macros? if not it might be work looking at if nothing is working. Also your gym work- are you lifting heavy enough ? good luck it's annoying when the result we want doesn't come after all the hard work

[Franglaise Graduate]

I have been following slimming world since Chrustmas. I have tried every diet going but this really works. I have lost 12kg and just have 3kg left to lose. My husband has lost 10kg just from eating the same thing. You do have to stick to it. It isnt a diet but a lifestyle chance. I honestly believe that ditching alcohol, apart from special occasions is a big factor...certainly for us. Check it out. You dont have to go to group, although I would if I was in uk. Good luck...dont despair.x

[GoogleMe Graduate]

How much do you need to lose weight in a medical sense?

If you do have a medical need, and you are actually weighing your food rather than guessing, then if you have no progress in another month it might be worth checking in with your GP to see if there's an underlying issue.

You've not mentioned whether you are running or what you actually do at the gym- strength work is great but won't lose weight. This is the Couch to 5K running forum and lots of us do start running because we hope it will help us lose weight. What it really does for most of us is give us a skill, and a habit and the empowerment to carry on and lose the weight. We graduate and we have such a sense of achievement and we know we can overcome setbacks. Many of my runs (of C25K length) don't burn more that 200 calories but I really notice the difference in terms of weight loss/maintenance.... Faster and longer runs obviously have a bigger impact.

It took me two years to get to a healthy BMI... I didn't change clothing size in that time.

[Jell6 Graduate]

How young are you Amanda?

1300 calories a day may be insufficient, at certain ages we need considerably more.

Do you actually need to lose weight?

C25K isn't really enough to cause weight loss, once completed and you do some longer runs, then you might see a difference.

[ThermoWoman]

Check portion sizes, keep a food diary for couple of weeks to see what you eat, get a heart rate monitor to see what percentage of your heart rate you are working too. Cut any fizzy drinks, check calories on any sports drinks. As previously mentioned it’s all about calorie deficit- good luck x

[Phoenix192 Graduate]

I feel your frustration. I don't drink, I track my calories (and weigh foods - no under-guessing) and aim for a 500 per day deficit yet my weight remains the same and has done for the past forever! I run 5-ish km every other day, play sport, walk 7-8 miles at the weekend and have an active job. My body just won't let go of those extra kgs and I'm getting fed up of the Rubenesque look.

[Runners Graduate]

Sometimes when your calorie intake is very low your body thinks something is wrong and starts to store fat. Also I would have your thyroid checked, my friend tried everything and couldn't lose weight and she had an under active thyroid.

[Runnellrun]

Hey Amanda, I've been having the same issue as you but for a couple of years now, probably since my late twenties. I am incredibly active, I play sports, do weight training and also cardio and I have special meal plans put together for me from a several nutritionists specifically for me. I took up couch to 5k because I always wanted to be able to run and thought its the last form of exercise I haven't tried and I always wanted to be a runner. However I haven't lost any weight (I'm on w8 r3), neither do I have any noticeably muscle and I keep putting on weight which isn't muscle. Its got me really down as I've been trying for the last few years and have tried everything under the sun. I also rarely drink, probably 2 times a month. Every time I go to the GP they keep testing me for Thyroid and it always comes back with negative. So just a few weeks ago I went to a private clinic and they tested me for everything, from my hormones, blood, thyroid etc. It turns out I was so vitamin D deficient (which I knew already but stopped taking them years ago) that it caused me to have liver issues which I didn't know I had and this is why I have been putting on weight. The deficiency had led to my liver not functioning the way its meant to in the metabolising, cleaning, absorption etc. Also my liver showed that I had been overtraining, which I knew I was because I was doing my running and 5 weight training sessions and also playing sports. My liver just couldn't metabolise any of it properly. So even though I am very fit, my body hasn't been functioning properly because I hadn't been giving my body all the vitamins it needed. So if its really getting you down (which mine was) then I would recommend going to your doctor because it could be something silent that has no discernible symptoms that could be affecting your weight loss. But my example may just be a magnification. x

[Sweatylady Graduate]

Hi 2 months is not long to change habits

Check- is your bmi actually overweight? If not you should just think about making your body more healthy and toned with exercise

If your bmi is overweight and you are actually eating only 1300 calories on average every day go to the doctor because you should be losing wight

I’m sure you look better than you think!

[E27M14 Graduate]

My partner and I started doing C25K together and dieting to lose some weight and get healthier. I got really frustrated for the first few months as he was losing weight and I wasn’t. My bidy was changing shape but nothing in the scales, whilst he was shedding the pounds like water!! 5 months on and he is stuck..... we now run 5k three times a week and I am still very carefully counting calories, sticking to 1300 a day. Now I am losing 1lb a week and he is struggling to lose any. We are all different and what works for one may not work for another. It is hard, and it is frustrating but keep at it. As long as you are eating the right things and burning those calories, it will come off eventually.